Frank Shifreen

Abstract Grid Composition in Grays

2013

These new works start from polar opposite impulses which juxtapose the purity and beauty of platonic forms opposed to impulsive muscular instantaneous painting. Shifreen internalizes...

These new works start from polar opposite impulses which juxtapose the purity and beauty of platonic forms opposed to impulsive muscular instantaneous painting. Shifreen internalizes...

Mary was born in Ohio and has lived in Memphis, Tennessee since the mid-1990s. Following studies in graphic design and painting, she began working in encaustic in 2001. Mary grew u...

Gouache and graphite on handmade paper. 14 x 11 inches unframed, 18.25 x 15.25 inches framed. Artist Statement: “As an artist, I find endless possibilities overwhelming and use self-imposed boundaries to focus my work. This often includes some combination of: a literal grid or graphite border, employment of barbecue skewers or wooden chopsticks in lieu of paintbrushes for mark making, use of a monochromatic or limited color palette, and a reliance on shape and pattern to tell a story. Limiting the elements at play adds a measure of gravity to each decision, and every detail about the paper, the viscosity of the paint, micro variations in hues, and even the sharpness of the point on a skewer matters. I’ve found that the more restrictions I put in place when I paint, the freer my work has become, allowing a tension to form between the organic and prescribed. Rather than sketch before starting a new piece, I spend time with the paper and begin to visualize possibilities. From there, I can expand the work incrementally. Whether I’m working in an adapted form of pointillism, playing with opacity and hue, or building patterns through repeating shape, the work evolves in its own time. It is an intentionally open process of discovery that seeks to uncover the greatest potential of the basest elements we have at our disposal”. - Kate Snow